International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board Ships
A mandatory International Maritime Organization instrument, adopted in 1993 and made compulsory under SOLAS in 2001, setting design and operational safety requirements for ships carrying irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive waste.
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- Established
- 1993
- Location
- International Maritime Organization, London, United Kingdom
- Country
- International
- Common name
- The INF Code
- Adopting body
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- Adopted (as a voluntary recommendation)
- 1993
- Made mandatory
- January 2001, under Chapter VII of the SOLAS Convention
- Vessel classes established
- INF 1, INF 2 and INF 3, graded by the aggregate radioactivity of the cargo carried
- Amending resolutions
- MSC.118(74) (2001), MSC.135(76) (2002), MSC.178(79) (2004) and MSC.241(83) (2007)
Overview
The International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board Ships — known for short as the INF Code — is an instrument of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) governing the design and operation of ships that carry irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive waste by sea. The IMO adopted it in 1993 as a voluntary, recommendatory code; it became mandatory in January 2001, when it was incorporated by reference into Chapter VII of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) (IMO).
The Code complements the transport regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency by adding maritime-specific requirements aimed at protecting people, property and the environment from the radiation hazards of this cargo, both in normal operation and in the event of an accident. It sorts ships into three classes — INF 1, INF 2 and INF 3 — based on the aggregate radioactivity of the material they are certified to carry, with INF 3 vessels (carrying the highest-activity cargo, including irradiated fuel, high-level waste and plutonium) facing no upper limit on aggregate radioactivity but correspondingly stringent design requirements (IMO).
Vessel requirements
Ships certified under the Code must meet requirements addressing damage stability, fire protection, and structural resistance, in addition to complying with SOLAS and, where relevant, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) (IMO). The World Nuclear Transport Institute, an industry body representing the nuclear transport sector, describes additional operational detail: cargo holds must be kept below 55°C, redundant electrical systems must provide at least 36 hours of backup power, and vessels must carry radiological protection equipment and documented emergency plans, alongside undergoing initial and periodic surveys under SOLAS (World Nuclear Transport Institute).
Amendment history
Since becoming mandatory, the Code has been amended by the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee on four occasions: resolution MSC.118(74), adopted 6 June 2001, aligned the Code’s cargo definitions with a parallel update to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code; MSC.135(76), adopted 12 December 2002, updated regulatory cross-references and tightened compliance language; MSC.178(79), adopted 10 December 2004, added a survey-completion-date field to the Code’s model certificate of fitness; and MSC.241(83), adopted 12 October 2007, revised the Code’s damage-stability chapter, including new provisions for vessels under 80 metres in length (Resolution MSC.118(74); Resolution MSC.135(76); Resolution MSC.178(79); Resolution MSC.241(83)).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not draw on academic legal-history literature discussing the Code, since the one such article identified (in the International Journal of Radioactive Materials Transport) could not be fetched and read in full. It also does not attempt to catalogue every vessel currently certified under the Code, or to assess compliance in practice — it describes the instrument’s legal and regulatory history and requirements as documented by the IMO and by an independent industry body.
Timeline
- 1993
- The IMO adopts the Code as a voluntary, recommendatory instrument covering the design and operation of ships carrying packaged irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high-level radioactive waste.
- 2001-01
- The Code becomes mandatory for ships engaged in the relevant trade, incorporated by reference into Chapter VII of the SOLAS Convention.
- 2001-06-06
- The IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopts resolution MSC.118(74), amending the Code to align its cargo definitions with Amendment 30 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.
- 2002-12-12
- The Maritime Safety Committee adopts resolution MSC.135(76), amending the Code's cargo definitions and regulatory references and, in places, replacing "should" with "shall" to strengthen compliance language.
- 2004-12-10
- The Maritime Safety Committee adopts resolution MSC.178(79), amending the Code's model International Certificate of Fitness for the Carriage of INF Cargo to add a survey-completion-date field.
- 2007-10-12
- The Maritime Safety Committee adopts resolution MSC.241(83), amending the Code's damage-stability chapter, including provisions for ships under 80 metres in length.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- An academic paper discussing the Code's legal and regulatory history ("The International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel... An Industry Perspective," International Journal of Radioactive Materials Transport) could not be independently fetched and read (access was blocked), so its specific analysis is not represented in this profile.
Sources
6 sources (5 tier 1, 1 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The IMO's own official page on the INF Code, and the four cited MSC amendment resolutions as published directly by the IMO, were fetched and read in full — these are first-hand records from the instrument's own adopting body. The World Nuclear Transport Institute, an industry body representing nuclear transport interests and independent of the IMO, was also fetched and read in full for its fact sheet on the Code's vessel requirements. An academic journal article on the Code's regulatory history (Taylor & Francis) was located but could not be fetched — it returned an access error — so it is not cited here.
- International Code for the Safe Carriage of Packaged Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High-Level Radioactive Wastes on board Ships (INF Code) Supports: The Code's full official name, its 1993 voluntary adoption, its January 2001 mandatory status under SOLAS, the list of amending resolutions, the three INF vessel classes, and the Code's overall safety scope (stability, fire protection, structural resistance).
- Resolution MSC.118(74) Supports: The adoption date and content of the first amendment to the Code.
- Resolution MSC.135(76) Supports: The adoption date and content of the second amendment to the Code.
- Resolution MSC.178(79) Supports: The adoption date and content of the third amendment to the Code.
- Resolution MSC.241(83) Supports: The adoption date and content of the fourth amendment to the Code.
- Fact Sheet: The INF Code and Purpose-Built Vessels Supports: Industry-perspective detail on the cargo types covered (spent fuel, MOX, vitrified high-level waste) and the compliance regime (SOLAS, MARPOL, periodic surveys) that INF-classed vessels operate under.
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